Building and Painting My Full-Size Sopwith Camel: A Dream Come True!

Join me on an incredible journey as I build and paint a full-size replica of the legendary Sopwith Camel! From the initial planning and construction to the final touches of paint, this project has been a labor of love and dedication.
If you enjoyed watching this build, please hit the thumbs up, share with your friends, and subscribe to my channel for more awesome projects. Let me know in the comments what you think and what you'd like to see next!

[@nospoon4799]

Maybe a camel for the nose art. Super camel🐪. I applaud the roller. 👏Nothing better for heavy coats.🦆🦆🦆🦆

[@scottmatthews5280]

Great idea!!

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Or Snoopy!

[@thewrenchreviews9986]

It is going to look incredible! Roll on with the roller! Perhaps a large roller for the acreage of the wings top and bottom?

[@scottmatthews5280]

Possibly!

[@paullinn1405]

Enjoying watching your build very much. Great attention to detail. Keep up the good work!

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thanks, will do!

[@garyanderson4374]

Love the linen color!

[@scottmatthews5280]

Took some trail and error and four sample pots to be happy.

[@guff3163]

Bunnings is one of those places I walk in for one thing and come away with ten haha! Colours look great. Progressing nicely. Thanks for the video and keep up the good work 👍

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thank you! 😊

[@SoloRenegade]

Love seeing the tips and tricks for the improvised spray booth. Just got a few more older books on fabric covering, and they cover many things I've already learned from you in this video series. and frankly, you're videos simply show and explain So much more, and so much better. Visuals and seeing the mistakes and how to troubleshoot and solve different unexpected situations not covered in the books is something the books simply can't do. I love books, but they have limitations too. Thank you for sharing this project with us, and for showing so many steps, processes, and situations you encountered. So many people skip and gloss over the critical steps you don't. They perhaps unintentionally take for granted that people don't know certain things. Look forward to seeing the fuselage covering and wings.

[@scottmatthews5280]

Appreciate your kind words thank you. Plenty more covering to come.

[@n206ja]

No question rolling the paint ... perfectly suits that aircraft and era!

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thank you

[@tuppyglossop222]

I’ve been binge watching the entire series over the last week. Now I have to wait to see the next one. It’s been interesting following the progress. A lot done, a lot left to do. Keep up the good work.

[@noahjbarr]

I went back and binge watched the zenith build recently 👍 There great videos.

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thank you

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thank you, welcome along.

[@dereka6762]

Great work scott. Your idea of using 2 whites was a surprising idea but makes a lot of sense - the little details matter. Using a bright white everywhere would be like painting a vintage car with 2 pack. You've chosen the right whites 👍 I come from a spray painting background and we always understood the paint/lacquer "shrunk" as the solvents that were used to carry it to the surface dried/evaporated. Used to be able to buy "drying" solutions to help with spraying enamel/oil based but I think a lot of those chemicals are banned now. The tape edges might keep showing up a little as the paint dries, but to me it is part of the amazing charm of a handbuilt antique aircraft. I don't know anything about the materials you're using but when I was young we ironed and shrunk the coverings on our R/C aircraft and the problem we found was that if we had to iron or shrink the fabric an awful lot to get it tight, when the plane was in the hot sun for a while the fabric could go slack if we had "over- shrunk" it. That's 40 years ago, but maybe it's worth painting and putting your test piece out in the sun to see how it goes ? Just an idea - would your topcoat stay wet long enough to "tip" it with a brush and give it the hand painted look ? Some of the lacquers we used would take a month and more to shrink. It's going to be a cracker of an aeroplane so enjoy the process. If you're looking for something to put next to the fuselage roundel - maybe a boxing kangaroo wearing the ANZAC air force cap ? Best wishes !

[@scottmatthews5280]

Boxing Kangaroo, that’s cool as a veteran. I’m happy with the pinked tape and not trying to burry it, just want to minimise the texture in the final finish like the wall of a typical house.

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day Scott, Yay Team ! Very clever, that idea of two different shades of White ; it never would've occurred to me. Excellent idea to not mess around with Spraypainting an Aircraft unless one both knows what one is doing, and has ALL the right equipment. A Yanqui RevHead called Cletus MacFarlane (?MacFarland ?) has a YT Channel of the same name ; recently he posted a Video of him visiting and watching, and suiting up and being Allowed To paint the Belly on his Hughes-500 Helicopter which is being built-up from what he bought sight unseen from Columbia that hadn't flown for about 12 years...(!). Looking at what they had, to make it come out Right... I'm REALLY Happy that you decided to Roll on the Housepaint, and let the Professional Industrial Chemists handle all the difficult issues involved in making the work of well-meaning amateurs look almost as good as what an average Tradesman does for a living...(!). In my mind, that beats the hell out of trying to thin Housepaint enough to Spray it, when the Cup has to be preheated for the Coffee to stay hot - for long enough to drink it in the Hangar...(!). Last time I fantasised about painting a Camel, I was going to use the 3-Way Illustration of a 4-Squadron AFC machine, which appears on page 30 in, "Men & Machines of the Australian Flying Corps", circa 1972 (?... I got my copy in '74 !). My father's uncle (Lieut. Leslie Wharton, MM.) was with 4-Squadron at roughly the same time the illustrated machine was with the Squadron, so as a kid I long fantasised that the Camel with the big white "W" on it, as well as a white Boomerang..., would probably have been assigned to him... Alphabetically (lol !). For his one and only Operational Flight over the Lines ; which is written up in the Official History. He was a "Proper little Fire-eater..." apparently. Arriving at Recklinghem with his MM collected as an Infantry Sergeant at Passchendale (where he "captured 500 yards of Enemy Trench, took a bullet through the Shoulder, and was therefore decorated, promoted and given his choice of next Assignment" after having gone to Gallipoli on ANZAC Day as a Private - & come off the Beach 5 months later as a Corporal with a broken Ankle, kinda thing. The Camel Combat Report words it very diplomatically.... On his first trip over the lines, "He became separated from his comrades...(wandered off alone...), when he saw a pair of LVG 2-Seaters, and immediately attacked them, shooting one down (his Flight-Leader no doubt seeing the obvious Trap, and avoiding it - so Uncle Fire-Eater left Formation to wade solo into a Fight which no sensible 6 Camels would agree to ; because anybody with any experience would have immediately realised that the apparently absent Escort for the pair of LVGs was actually lurking vertically overhead, above some hazy clouds - able to see down but not easily seen from below...). As he got his LVG, the avenging Albatri - half a dozen thereof, chased the family Fire-eating Camel-Jockey into a Cloud to hide - with his Fueltank holed by Gunfire...; and upon emerging he was hit on the head by a fragment of an "Archie" Shellburst, becoming unconscious, spinning down until recovering barely in time to Pancake slightly behind Allied (Australian ?) Lines... I still have the Official AFC 1918 Xmas Card which he sent my Grandparents, from Hospital in England before the Armistice ; when my father was 7... After thus defeating the Kaiser (!), Les returned to Oz, and became a Schoolteacher ; in Wagga Wagga. I don't think Snoopy started Chasing the Red Baron while sitting atop his Doghouse until after WW-2, did he ? But the USAAC did have some Camels - maybe after the Armistice ; perhaps one of them had a "Snoopy" as a Decoration ? Anyway, Keep on having fun... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@scottmatthews5280]

A guy in QLD has finished a camel with a W and boomerang on it. Looks great.

[@WarblesOnALot]

@@scottmatthews5280 Excellent ! Good to know...; I wonder if he found it in the same Book I did ? Stay safe, ;-p Ciao !

[@Steve-mb8tg]

Hi Scott, you're doing a fantastic job, bud...the Camel is going to turn out way better than B+...😊

[@scottmatthews5280]

I hope so!

[@ptonpc]

Getting closer to flight!

[@scottmatthews5280]

I step at a time

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I do not have the patience for such a detailed and precise project. Too many of my tasks end up with a ribbon for "Good enough, I guess?"

[@MillwalltheCat]

PC10 was official name for the 'Khaki' colour, and was a mixture of Lamp-black and Yellow Ochre of varying proportion. The roundel colours were described as Vermilliom, White and Ultramarine. Good build, I've enjoyed watching your progress.

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thanks for the info!

[@rcdogmanduh4440]

Aim high, so many ways to paint, roll tip with brush after. Roll pass heat gun with wide attachment lightly to flow bumps. Or most important relax it will look great!

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thank you

[@model1issue138]

Your first colors, white and linen, are looking good, Scott. Congrats! The subtle contrast between these adds a detail that helps the replica look original. For the tail feathers and roundels, a four inch roller works nicely. When you get to the wings, you might try a six inch roller, much more efficient and works just as well. I used a foam roller for all paint applications. When I was painting my SE5a, the first green coat looked AWFUL: the primer showed through, and it looked blotchy, like bile, and many roller marks showed. This was probably due to the green color not being 'fully saturated' - a term borrowed from my artist daughter. The second roller coat of green was a lot better, but at least three coats were needed to fully saturate and provide a uniform shade with roller marks virtually eliminated. At first I thought I would NOT paint the wings under the roundels, but would fit the roundel inside an area that had only been primed. After a lot of thought, I gave up that idea, painted the entire wing surface (either linen or green) and put the roundels on top. This worked nicely, but each roundel color needed three or more coats. Surprisingly, the red needed the most coats! Actually applying the paint for the roundels was the easy part. What took a great deal of time was drawing and laying out concentric circles with trim tape. Some instructions suggest a pencil and string method with a push pin at the center. This is easy but has two problems: 1) the flexible string can stretch, or the pencil can 'lean', which produces a slight oval or a non-concentric circle instead of a circle, and 2) while the string method can work on a FLAT surface, these sources of error are compounded on a curved surface such as the upper side of a wing. To deal with the above issues, I took a thin, flexible slat of soft wood about 1/16 inch thick, inch an a half wide, and six feet long, picked a point near one end and taped a small block of wood there. A hole was drilled in the block to accept a mechanical pencil and hold it steady and vertical. (This eliminated the need to remove a regular pencil for repeated re-sharpening and also provided a uniform pencil line thickness.) From the point of the mechanical pencil, the distances for all concentric circles were measured out. A small hole was drilled at each of those distances, to receive a push pin that formed the central pivot for drawing each circle. Thus, for the top wing roundels over green paint, the OUTside edge of the white border line was 5 ft 1 in away from the point of the mechanical pencil. The INside edge of the white border line was only 5 ft 0 in away from the pencil. In use, the flexible slat (really a flexible trammel point...) bends over the curve of the airfoil, and produces a nice concentric, round insignia. And this makes all the roundels the same size! A smaller flexible slat was used for fuselage roundels. All trim tape used was 1/4 inch wide, automotive trim tape: look for one that will work for sharp curves. All the over-splash tape was wide "Frog" tape, the kind designed for use on "Delicate" surfaces. These worked nicely. Making those videos is a lot of work, but they are great, keep 'em going! John SE5a

[@scottmatthews5280]

Thanks John great tips. Did you use any paint additives to flow the paint out like Floetroll ? Or tip the rolled paint with a brush.

[@model1issue138]

@@scottmatthews5280 Hi, Scott, Indeed, I tried a product called "M-1" which is specifically designed for use with 'thick' latex paints, but I quickly abandoned it. In all fairness, it did work as claimed, however, it became apparent that to use it would require additional color top-coats, and while the 'egg-shell' effect from the foam roller was reduced somewhat, there was too much variation over large surfaces. So, for the sake of a more uniform finish, and to safe time (and my back) from applying four or more topcoats, I went without additives. I think the biggest bang for the buck from additives comes from when they're added for spraying. At first, I also tried to "tip off" rolled coats with a brush, but it was very difficult to get a uniform finish that way. Some areas were thicker than others and the "grain" produced by the brush went in different directions. (I did not try this, but it might be very tricky to "tip off" colors in roundels... too easy to paint outside the lines!) I felt the best foam roller effect was from the "cross-coat" technique, which makes a nice uniform egg-shell of uniform thickness. I did about one or two square feet at a time, and went over that area typically three times: chord wise, span wise, and chord wise again. Oh, yeah, another thought... particularly for painting the 1 inch white border around roundels, but useful in any cramped or small area. Foam rollers can be cut into smaller lengths, like just two inches or even less. I cut mine on a band saw, but any saw will do. The useful part is the end where the hole for the handle enters the roller - it has a plastic sleeve inside that supports the roller. However, the closed end of the roller has a larger diameter internal sleeve, and either becomes waste, or an 'ersatz' foam hand brush - just stick it on the end of a dowel and cut the foam to desired shape with a sharp knife or razor blade. (WNWN) Keep on rollin'! John SE5a

[@hairy8184]

I was having the same issue with my house doors which I'm re-painting at the moment. I've ended up laying them flat to stop runs and boy is it laying down nice. The trouble is if you do need to touch up spots later it really shows up if you use a brush, so you have to redo the lay flat spray process all over again. I've just bought an Ozito air brush to try out to see if that's any better. It has it's own little compressor and for $129 at bunnies might also be an option for your detail work. BTW it would be nice to see some more shots of you working, even just the camera/phone on a tripod in the corner..

[@scottmatthews5280]

I have an Apollo sprayer, cost a fortune but needs a lot more practice. I’ll get there.

[@SoloRenegade]

17:16 pun not intended I assume 🐪

[@daisybeagle6259]

Love it! Bunnings Aerospace!😀

[@scottmatthews5280]

The best!

[@geoffb108]

I'm sure the Sopwith factory workers 1917 were no as obsessive compulsive as you. On your maiden flight the construction will be more important than how you applied the paint or where it came from. Looking forward to finished product .

[@scottmatthews5280]

Aim high. The standard you walk past is the standard you set.

[@Kimdino1]

I love your comment to the guy in the hardware store. But, of course, being a worker for a big chain store means that he wouldn't be allowed to do the simple & obvious thing.

[@dandurkee1372]

The covering and roller technique looks amazing. Are you sure having the wing roundels forward on the top and shifted back on the bottom will look okay? They might be more visually pleasing centered front to back over the wings. Most of the historical pics seemed to have them centered - and almost as large as the wing width. Just a thought. I used a pencil on a string attached to a thumbtack in the center to draw or cut perfect circles.

[@scottmatthews5280]

Not sure what you mean it might be the wing stagger you are referencing but the rounders are catered on each wing.

[@dandurkee1372]

@@scottmatthews5280 Oh, I did not see the "wing stagger" in the drawing.

[@davidbamford4721]

Hello Scott, I have just discovered your very interesting channel. I shall be following your adventure as best I can. My first wonder is about your proposed engine. Will you use a radial, as rotaries are like hens’ teeth?

[@scottmatthews5280]

Welcome aboard! Yes I have a radial engine on y to he hangar floor. Rotec 2800 7 cyclinder

[@rogerkbell]

Hi Scott. I know this is not paint related however I am having the most unsuccessful time trying to bend wing ribs. My rib bending jig is unsavable at this point. Have you done an episode on rib bending?

[@scottmatthews5280]

Yes, it starts about here kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqWahHWXj9d1nqcsi=vJu6Sj7En5pWvj8L A good jig is a must.

[@charlescampbellii8193]

You think about it and go back 108 years ago did they have spray guns.

[@stephengent9974]

Why are you using the hangar temp not inside the tent where you will paint? Makes no sense really. Inside the tent would be a lot warmer

[@scottmatthews5280]

Not too worried about the temp at all to be honest, just above 10c ambient as directed on the can.

[@SoloRenegade]

12:50 Nothing wrong with a roller. Pretty sure they didn't use spray guns in WW1, likely used brushes. I know seeking out historical accuracy like that is not the objective here at all, but the point is that it worked then, and the planes flew fine, so why not here too? In all honesty, it's complexities like spray guns and specialty tools that partially scare people away from building airplanes, fixing car, etc. People see the cost of tools and think they can't build without those tools, when in reality a lot can also be done with very basic hand tools, or simple power tools. And people see tools and skills that can be difficult to master and require research and practice, when in reality the basic skills also work and are far cheaper and easier to do. They may not achieve show-worthy results, but as long as it works, who cares. What homebuilder is attempting to win an award on their first ever build anyways (not that it can't be done, just that it shouldn't be the goal on the first try)?

[@scottmatthews5280]

I achieved great results spraying the Cruzer, but I think this build will be better rolled on. Always learning.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@scottmatthews5280 I have nothing against spraying. just commenting on how people need to not forget that the more "primitive" methods work too, and your video is a good example of that. At the end of the day most of us just want to be able to fly affordably and safely. A spray can may get better results, but rollers are far more accessible to more people. they don't have to worry about containing the cloud of paint, cheaper, simpler, etc. And if more people promote such methods when appropriate, I think more people would be less intimidated to try a project.

[@Kimdino1]

Snoopy? Nah.. You need to be a bit more original, mate. Make it your own with the graphic. Many of the WW! aircraft had the pilots personal markings. If there had been an Aussie in the RFC I bet he'd have painted a kangaroo on his. With it being a fighter type you could have a 'roo with boxing gloves on. Just an idea?